Stage 8 wasn't supposed to matter this much, but from a brief review it looks to me like CSC did a Postal -- using the mountain train to take over the first big stage, ride everyone's legs off, and let their guy make a huge preemptive move on the GC... before anyone knew what hit them. Savoldelli's run at pink isn't quite over, with the time trial on Thursday his big chance for at least a few days of glory, but given what lies ahead, his chance for final victory looks infinitessimally small. But things could be worse... at least Savoldelli hasn't wasted his entire season on a race he should have known he couldn't win, like DiLuca has. Chances are il Falco is still eyeing the Tour too [see Mr. Van P.'s post below]. Whereas DiLuca and Simoni both dropped big chunks today, which doesn't sit well given their disadvantages in the ITT.
Now it looks like a two-man race between Cunego and Basso, with a huge ad to the latter based on ITTs. But they'll be close enough on GC, with enough huge climbs ahead, where one bad day by one could finish off the other, in short order. Basso's other huge advantage: Sastre, and Julich, and the rest of his crack team. Anyway, it'll still be worth watching, either for the drama or for the coronation of a dominant new champ.